When Hannah offered Cliff her hand to hold, he knew their relationship had taken a turn. Gone were her tentative suspicions about him. He had earned a new level of trust. He also knew he hadn't yet completely won her over. He could still blow it, so he had to continue to take things slow.
As they approached The Fender Bender, which is what Hershey Park called their bumper cars, Cliff noticed a commotion. Several people stood around a crying little boy who looked to be around eight. A woman, Cliff assumed to be the boy's mother, was unable to console him. She was pregnant and looked like she could give birth at any time. She held onto her son who was being scolded by the ride operator.
Cliff let go of Hannah's hand. "I'm going to see if I can help her."
He walked up to the lady, remembering what Izzy had advised him about not barging in and trying to take charge. "Excuse me, is there anything I can do to help with your little boy?"
The mother eyed him. "Do you work here at the park?"
"No, I'm just a guest."
The boy calmed down and the operator returned to his station.
The lady sighed and laid a hand on top of her son's head. "Today is Rocky's birthday. He begged me to bring him here. I told him I couldn't ride any of the rides in my condition, but he really wanted this as his birthday present, and I didn't want to disappoint him."
She motioned with her head toward the operator. "That man says Rocky is too short to drive the bumper car by himself and too young."
Cliff agreed with the operator and couldn't blame him. He motioned for Hannah to approach. "My lady friend and I were about to get on this ride. I'm happy to have Rocky as my passenger, if it's okay with you? You'll be able to watch us the entire time."
The boy's mother regarded the two of them.
Cliff understood her suspicion because they were strangers. "The fence surrounding this ride will keep us hemmed in. You'll be able to see us the entire time and can wait at the exit." He pulled his wallet and offered her his driver's license. "You can hang onto this, but if you're not cool with my offer, it's okay. It's your choice."
"You can keep your ID. Thank you for offering. If Rocky wants, he can ride with you."
Hannah bent at the waist to look at Rocky at his eye level. "Your birthday? How old are you?"
He glanced at his mother as if asking her permission to respond. His mother nodded.
"I'm eight."
"Would you like to ride with me in my bumper car?"
Rocky crinkled his nose and stood next to Cliff. "I'll ride with him."
They all giggled. Cliff looked at the boy. "When you're a few years older, you'll realize your mistake in not choosing the pretty lady."
A few minutes later Cliff was seated in a green car, Rocky at his side. Hannah took a pink car directly behind them. She taunted them. "Ha, guys, I'm right at your rear bumper. As soon as the operator turns on the juice, you're mine!"
Cliff turned to Rocky. "Not if we can get away from her first."
"Go fast!" Rocky shouted.
When the ride started, Cliff floored the accelerator, but he hadn't reacted quick enough. Hannah rammed their car into the wall, turning them sideways. She wore a wicked grin.
"Ah, she got us," Cliff explained.
"Go faster!" Rocky scolded.
Cliff turned their car back onto the floor, this time with Hannah in front. Her car seemed to be faster than theirs and kept pulling away, but a pileup in front made Hannah stop. Cliff and Rocky slammed into her.
Rocky squealed with delight.
"This isn't over!" Hannah yelled.
For the rest of the ride, the two drivers pounded into each other and occasionally into other riders. Cliff and Rocky were enjoying their duel with Hannah, but the ride ended too soon.
Rocky wanted to go again, but his mother beckoned the boy to come.
Cliff exchanged a high five with the kid before his mother led him away.
"You're good with kids," Hannah said.
Was he? Cliff had no experience with little ones.
Hannah took his hand to get his attention. "Did you hear me? I said you're good with kids."
"I suppose so." Without thinking, he added, "Do you want kids?"
Hannah frowned.
Cliff jumped in. "Sorry. That's probably not appropriate. Never mind."
She cleared her throat. "It's okay. I'm hesitating, because...I'm already twenty-six. A lot of my friends are married, but I picked the wrong man. I wasted so many years. I had a good career going and by now should be ready for kids." She sighed. "I'm so off course in my life from where I pictured myself."
It made Cliff feel good how she continued to open up to him. He squeezed her hand. "You're hardly an old maid. You still have a lot of time. The circumstances that happened to you are not your fault. You're intelligent and driven. I'm confident you'll be back on course soon."
She shot him a weak smile. "I hope so. Anyway, thanks for the vote of confidence."
Cliff checked the time. "I promised Izzy we'd meet up with her and Aaron at the food court. Let's head that way."
Hannah glanced off into the distance and gasped. She pressed against Cliff's side as if trying to hide herself.
He reacted immediately, imagining some sort of threat. "What's wrong? What is it?"
"My ex, James, he's here and he was looking right at me."
"Where?" He turned to scan the crowd.
Hannah looked. "I don't see him now."
There were too many people. Anyone could easily slip away. "Are you sure it was him?"
She nodded.
"Do you have a reason to believe he might be a danger to you?"
She considered his question. "Probably not, but he showed up at the bar a couple nights ago acting strange."
"How so?"
Hannah sighed. "I don't want to spoil our date by talking about him. If he's here, it's probably a coincidence."
Cliff sensed Hannah remained uneasy, and he didn't want to make light of the incident. "Are you freaked out? Would you like me to take you home?"
"No. I was just startled, and it caused me to overreact."
"Are you sure?"
She wore a smile. "I'm fine. C'mon, let's go find your sister."
Do you think Hannah is more concerned than she's letting on?
The "Fender Bender" video at the top isn't as dramatic as Candymonium in the previous chapter, but when I was a little boy the bumper cars were always my favorite ride.